the blog of an aspiring YA author full of book reviews, musings on writing, life and being a young adult with a disability.

Friday, September 21, 2012

Opportunity Taking

Last February, I was an idiot.

One evening, sitting in my tiny-tiny dorm room, I randomly went on the website of Jack's Mannequin, the band of Andrew Mcmahon, my favorite songwriter. He's in the playlist for everything I write. He's my ringtone. I am quite into him.

The band was in Boston. That night. Playing at House of Blues, which was .7 miles away from my dorm. I'd walked it before. The show started in an hour.

Did I get off my butt and head down there to beg for tickets? No. There wasn't a way to check online for tickets. I'd had a bad experience at HoB before. I didn't want to walk. (N.B. THERE WAS A BUS). But really, I was just going through a time when I let opportunity pass me by, because I was not mentally in a good place. I was convinced Things Wouldn't Work Out or Be Worth It.

Two days ago, I got an email about a benefit concert (in LA) that would "be the last Jack's Mannequin show". The band is splitting so Andrew can work on other things. I'm excited to see what that will be, but I will always, always regret not walking those seven blocks to try to see hm at HoB.

The thing is, you can't always recognize opportunity. The right way to spend an evening might be watching Buffy with your roommate instead of responding to that facebook event invite. But given the choice between nothing and something, I've always believed in something.

I spent my backpacking weeks jumping from event to event, seizing opportunities. It's time to reclaim that part of myself.

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About Me

I'm an aspiring YA author and nerdfighter who lives in Boston MA. I'm studying for an MA/MFA in Children's Literature at Simmons College. I also enjoy speaking at various events about my experiences. In my spare time (ha) I obsess over things like Grey's Anatomy, Buffy the Vampire Slayer,Torchwood and every CD I can get my hands on.
DFTBA
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